Draft Building Bulletin 100

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will put into the public domain the responses to the public consultation on draft Building Bulletin 100, Designing and Managing Against Risk of Fire in Schools; if he will summarise the responses, indicating those which called for local authorities to be instructed either to install or evaluate the benefits of installing sprinkler systems in any new school buildings or within the plans for refurbishment of existing school buildings; when he will publishhis response to the consultation; when he will publish the work commissioned by his Department from the Building Research Establishment on sprinklers in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: There were 66 responses to the 12 questions asked in the public consultation on the draft of Building Bulletin 100 (BB 100) and a summary of these will be placed on the Department's website early in November. 74 per cent. of respondents agreed with the proposal that sprinkler systems should be installed in a new school if the need for them was indicated by a risk assessment. However, 58 per cent. thought that there needed to be more guidance on sprinklers than was contained in the draft.
	This finding reinforced the need for the costbenefit analysis study of sprinklers that we had already commissioned form the Building Research Establishment (BRE).
	However, we have since asked BRE to carry our further work on developing a risk assessment tool. We also commissioned consultants to carry out a study to establish reliable figures for the costs of installing sprinklers in schools. Their survey covers a minimum of 20 primary and secondary schools, and is analysing both installation costs and maintenance costs.
	Both these pieces of work commenced in July and should be complete by the end of October. Data from all of these studies, and substantive responses from the public consultation, will be incorporated into the final draft of BB 100. We expect to publish this early next year.

Higher Education Finance

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the timetable is for the review of fees and capping in higher education; what the terms of reference of the review are; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The then Secretary of State for Education and Skills said in a written answer on 26 January 2004 that the independent review will look at all aspects of the new fee arrangements based on the first three years' operation of the policy. Details of the timetable and arrangements for the Commission will be announced in due course.
	The January 2004 statement proposed terms of the reference for the review which involved looking at three main areas. These are:
	the impact of the new arrangements on higher education institutions;
	the impact of the new arrangements on students and prospective students; and
	recommendations on the future direction of the policy.

Road Safety

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much central Government funding for roadsafety improvements has been allocated to  (a) Suffolk,  (b) Bedfordshire,  (c) Cambridgeshire,  (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and  (f) Norfolk in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The following tables show the funding allocated to the local authorities listed in the local transport capital settlements from 1997-98 to 2006-07. From 2000-01 to 2006-07 the figures shown are the total integrated transport block allocation. Typically about a quarter of this is spent on road safety schemes, but it is for local authorities to determine exactly how much in the light of local priorities for transport.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Integrated transport block funding 
			  Local authority area  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Bedfordshire 450 396 400 2,400 3,900 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,180 743 850 4,500 8,100 
			 Essex 1,588 990 1,000 5,000 13,000 
			 Hertfordshire(1) 1,042 909 1,000 5,000 12,500 
			 Norfolk(1) 900 825 830 4,000 10,000 
			 Suffolk 872 792 818 4,000 7,500 
		
	
	
		
			  £000 
			   Integrated transport block funding 
			  Local authority area  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Bedfordshire 3,100 3,000 3,200 3,350 3,572 
			 Cambridgeshire 8,050 9,300 11,814 8,200 8,662 
			 Essex 13,000 13,966 14,250 13,800 13,327 
			 Hertfordshire(1) 12,950 14,170 12,350 12,600 11,422 
			 Norfolk(1) 10,550 11,119 13,213 9,700 11,073 
			 Suffolk 8,150 8,250 7,745 7,350 7,578 
			 (1) Between financial years 2002-03 and 2006-07 Hertfordshire and Norfolk each also received a total of £1 million in specific road safety grants associated with the Mixed Priority Route Road Safety Demonstration Project. These allocations were awarded following a bidding competition. 
		
	
	Payments were also made to local authorities in respect of child pedestrian training schemes as part of the Kerbcraft child pedestrian training pilot project. All local authorities were invited to bid for schemes, which were awarded on the basis of high levels of deprivation and occurrence of child pedestrian casualties. Central Government funding for all these schemes has now ceased.
	
		
			  Kerbcraft funding 
			  £ 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Suffolk 6,566 26,913 23,429 21,356 — 
			 Essex 6,738 29,998 27,788 25,476 — 
			 Norfolk — 1,504 21,727 25,703 18,830

Thameslink

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Transport when he expects to make a statement on  (a) funding for and  (b) the operational start date of Thameslink.

Tom Harris: My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Transport, announced the decision to grant legal powers and planning consents to Network Railin respect of the Thameslink Programme on the18 October 2006.
	Thameslink is an important scheme, and will offer real benefits in terms of increased capacity on busy commuter routes to the north and south of London. However, a funding decision cannot be considered in isolation and will be considered over the next few months in the light of the emerging conclusions of the cross-government Comprehensive Spending Review and the development of the new High Level Output Specification for Network Rail.
	The timing of the implementation of the project will follow from the conclusion of a decision on project funding.

Planning

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 15 May 2006,  Official Report, column 813W, on planning, if she will place in the Library a list of planning decisions approved and returned by the Secretary of State, and her predecessor, since June 2002 showing the name of the  (a) applicant and  (b) agent in each case.

Yvette Cooper: Decision Letters, which provide details of the applicant (and agent where applicable), for planning cases that have been approved or refused by the Secretary of State, and her predecessor, from 1 April 2002 to 1 March 2006, can be found on the Department for Communities and Local Government website(1). The details of cases from 1 March 2006 onwards are currently being uploaded onto that website, so information on these cases is being placed in the House Library.
	(1)http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l143333

2012 Olympics

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria she applies to accepting sponsors of the Olympic Games in 2012; which companies are sponsoring the Games; who was responsiblefor selecting each company; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has identified six categories from which domestic partners will be chosen—banking, insurance, utility services (electricity and natural gas), oil and gas, automotive, and telecommunications. LOCOG is in discussions with potential partners and it will shortly issue invitations for tender (ITTs) in the banking and insurance sectors, with other ITTs following in the coming months. LOCOG hopes to confirm its first sponsorship agreement in early 2007.
	To host and stage the Games, LOCOG has a£2 billion budget, almost all of which has to be raised from private sector. Around a third of this will be through sponsorship. Sponsors are, therefore, a vital part of delivering a successful Games. LOCOG will also receive a proportion of revenue from the sponsors in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) The Olympic Partner Programme (TOP), within the contribution it will receive from the IOC towards the London 2012 Games.

Sport England

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2006,  Official Report, column 981W, on Sport England, whether the interview panel indicated a preference for either of the two candidates.

Tessa Jowell: The OCPA Code states that apart from exceptional circumstances, Ministers will be offered a choice of candidates and at least two should beput forward for each vacancy. In keeping withthis guidance, the interview panel for the Chair of Sport England recommended two candidates for consideration. The interview panel concluded that both were clearly appointable, but each offered very different skills and experience and the final decision would depend on which qualities Ministers felt were more important to the needs of Sport England.

Community Support Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there were in each police authority area in each year since their introduction; and what the projected numbers are for the next three years.

Tony McNulty: The available data is given in the table. Police Community Support Officers were introduced as part of the Police Reform Act 2002 so data is only available from 2003 onwards.
	We have increased the funding to support the increase in numbers of Police Community Support Officers this year in order to reach 16,000 byApril 2007. Thereafter we will discuss with the police service the sort of numbers and flexibilities they need for delivering and maintaining a comprehensive programme of neighbourhood policing. It is for chief constables to determine deployment.
	
		
			  Community support officer strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  by police force area as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2006 
			   31 March 
			  Police force  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 0 45 139 130 
			 Bedfordshire 0 12 40 41 
			 Cambridgeshire 6 57 86 101 
			 Cheshire 2 50 52 75 
			 Cleveland 37 77 75 100 
			 Cumbria 0 0 17 17 
			 Derbyshire 0 0 43 42 
			 Devon and Cornwall 19 51 74 74 
			 Dorset 6 8 47 61 
			 Durham 10 28 69 67 
			 Essex 10 86 179 192 
			 Gloucestershire 0 54 72 72 
			 Greater Manchester 160 173 269 251 
			 Hampshire 0 0 26 30 
			 Hertfordshire 14 46 98 139 
			 Humberside 0 0 20 20 
			 Kent 0 59 105 97 
			 Lancashire 77 110 161 184 
			 Leicestershire 28 41 103 136 
			 Lincolnshire 29 38 75 78 
			 London, City Of 0 0 14 11 
			 Merseyside 40 72 170 196 
			 Metropolitan 513 1,463 2,147 2,315 
			 Norfolk 12 33 68 65 
			 Northamptonshire 12 10 37 40 
			 Northumbria 0 51 126 129 
			 North Yorkshire 0 52 75 71 
			 Nottinghamshire 10 56 108 112 
			 South Yorkshire 14 59 124 121 
			 Staffordshire 0 7 63 70 
			 Suffolk 0 15 34 30 
			 Surrey 21 56 115 126 
			 Sussex 22 83 228 257 
			 Thames Valley 0 7 98 130 
			 Warwickshire 11 25 56 64 
			 West Mercia 8 57 81 85 
			 West Midlands 0 39 219 252 
			 West Yorkshire 70 265 394 462 
			 Wiltshire 15 23 41 57 
			 Dyfed Powys 0 5 25 26 
			 Gwent 30 45 77 76 
			 North Wales 0 0 59 58 
			 South Wales 0 59 107 111 
			 Total 43 forces 1,176 3,418 6,214 6,769 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.(2) Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Illegal Immigration

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost to public funds of establishing 24-hour security at UK ports to tackle illegal immigration.

Liam Byrne: There are 35 air, sea and rail points of entry in the UK and in juxtaposed locations, which, by virtue of the nature and frequency of traffic and the numbers of passengers requiring leave to enter, have an immigration official presence 24 hours a day or during operating hours. All other ports of entry are attended to cover scheduled services, or on a risk assessed basis, or in response to specific intelligence.
	Initial indicative costings for the staffing of allUK ports, including small ports, 24 hours a day suggest that the additional cost could be in excess of£104 million.

Police

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent civilian employees of North Wales police there were on the last day of each of the last five financial years.

Tony McNulty: The available data is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police staff( 1)  strength for North Wales police force (FTE)( 2)  as at31 March 2002 to 31 March 2006 
			  Year ending 31 March:  Number 
			 2002 645 
			 2003 703 
			 2004 849 
			 2005 867 
			 2006 882 
			 (1) Police staff exclude police community support officers and traffic wardens.  (2) Full-time equivalent. This figure includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate she has made of the total carbon emission from the Prime Minister's offices in each year since 1997.

Edward Miliband: The Prime Minister's Office forms an integral part of the Cabinet Office estate and figures for individual parts of the estate cannot be disaggregated. The available information on the amount of total carbon emissions for the Cabinet Office is shown in the following table. Figures prior to 1999-2000 are not available.
	
		
			   Total carbon emissions (tonnes) 
			 1999-2000 1,890 
			 2000-01 1,927 
			 2001-02 2,136 
			 2002-03 2,207 
			 2003-04 1,937 
			 2004-05 2,208 
			 2005-06 2,031 
		
	
	The Cabinet Office aims to reduce its carbon emissions, improve its energy management practices and identify likely areas for potential energy savings. As part of this, the Cabinet Office has recently signedup to the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme.

Aircraft Sales (Saudi Arabia)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the sale of 72 Eurofighter aircraft by BAE Systems to Saudi Arabia on political and military stability in  (a) the region and (b) Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the financial effects on the UK of the recent sale of Eurofighter aircraft by BAE Systems to Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the total costs to the UK incurred by the Defence Export Services Organisation and other Government Departments and individuals were in promoting the sale of Eurofighter aircraft by BAE Systems to Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The sale of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to Saudi Arabia is fully consistent with our policy of supporting the efforts of the Gulf Co-operation Council States, of which Saudi Arabia is the biggest, in promoting regional stability. It also meets the legitimate defence requirements of the Saudi armed forces. Negotiations on the commercial arrangements for the sale are continuing and a full assessment of the financial effects would not be possible until their conclusion. However, as the then Secretary of State for Defence stated in December last year, the deal represents good news for both UK and Saudi industry and will help sustain several thousand UK jobs over the next 10 years.
	The negotiations on the Understanding Document signed last December, which set out the intention to establish greater partnership in modernising the Saudi armed forces, and on the subsequent commercial arrangements for the sale of Typhoon aircraft have been led by this Department. The costs associated with these activities have been recovered from a management fee received from the Saudi Arabian Government. No record has been kept of that element of the management fees used to cover the above costs and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Energy Consumption

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Department's annual consumption of  (a) electricity,  (b) gas,  (c) oil and  (d) vehicle fuel was in each of the last five years; and how much was spent on each in each year.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence's annual expenditure and consumption of electricity, gas, heating oil and vehicle fuel in each of the last five years are detailed in the following tables.
	
		
			  Expenditure 
			  £ million 
			   Description 
			   Electricity  Gas  Heating oil  Vehicle fuel  Unites States forces—utilities consumption 
			 2001-02 107 57 21 — 7 
			 2002-03 92 56 26 — 8 
			 2003-04 98 53 21 — 1 
			 2004-05 114 69 25 — 2 
			 2005-06 141 100 31 64 3 
		
	
	
		
			  Consumption 
			   kWh (weather corrected) 
			   Electricity  Gas  Heating Oil  Vehicle Fuel 
			 2001-02 1,894,069,084 3,653,202,681 1,305,509,870 — 
			 2002-03 1,995,090,434 3,753,324,853 1,213,570,915 — 
			 2003-04 2,056,585,715 3,920,001,868 1,127,825,674 67,367,116 
			 2004-05 2,012,300,237 4,162,748,822 1,138,636,804 70,046,299 
			 2005-06 — — — 68,315,579 
		
	
	Defence Fuels Group only holds financial information for vehicle fuel for the last financial year and does not hold consumption figures for 2001-02 and 2002-03.
	The finalised 2005-06 consumption figures for electricity, gas and heating oil are not yet available. However, they will be published later this year in the Sustainable Development Commission's Sustainable Development in Government Report, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House.

Exertional Heat Illness

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice is given to  (a) soldiers,  (b) officers,  (c) trainers and  (d) medics regarding the prevention, recognition and treatment of exertional heat illness.

Derek Twigg: Joint Service Publication (JSP) 539 contains the advice given to Service personnel regarding the prevention, recognition and treatment of exertional heat illness (EHI). The JSP aims to educate all Service personnel in the prevention and treatment of cases of heat and cold injury in order to minimise the risks of morbidity or mortality associated with these preventable conditions. It also sets out the procedures to minimise the risk of developing heat and cold illness and describes the immediate management of anyone who develops a thermal injury.
	The Annexes to chapter 2 of the JSP provide detailed guidance on the assessment of risk of heat illness and the water requirements for personnel during exercise in the heat. They also provide guidance for medical staff on the treatment of heat illness and a detailed schedule for heat acclimatisation prior to, and during deployment to hot climates.
	I have placed a copy of JSP 539 in the Library of the House.

MOD Estate

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his timetable is for  (a) land disposals and  (b) re-development positions relating to (i) Aldershot Urban Extension, (ii) Deepcut and (iii) Aborfield; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: In respect of the Aldershot Urban Extension, the Defence Estates Agency are promoting the site for a residential led mixed use development and are seeking to agree a Master Plan for the redevelopment with the local planning authority. It is possible that the land will be disposed of in phases as it becomes vacant.
	On Deepcut and Arborfield, the disposal of these sites is subject to the outcome of the Defence Training Review Rationalisation Programme. An announcement about this Programme is anticipated later this year.

Service Families Accommodation

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to  (a) reduce use of service families accommodation and  (b) increase leasing of private sector accommodation.

Derek Twigg: There are currently no plans to reduce the use of UK Service Families Accommodation (SFA) in favour of leasing accommodation from the private sector.
	The MOD only leases private sector accommodation in the UK when it has an individual housing requirement that it cannot satisfy with existing SFA or where personnel moves necessitate bulk hirings to meet a short-term need before families settle in the local communities. Where long-term demand exists in cases where there is currently no available SFA, cost effective PFI schemes are often used to satisfy demand.

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of progress on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan; and if he will place in the Library copies of the relevant aid impact analysis reports.

Hilary Benn: Despite a legacy of more than 20 years of conflict, Afghanistan has made good progress in reconstruction over the last five years. In January 2005, the Government of Afghanistan launched the interim Afghanistan National Development Strategy and the Afghanistan Compact at the London Conference. This is a major step in setting the overall strategy for development policies including reconstruction. The international community fully supports this strategy and as a result pledged £10.5 billion towards implementation. There are now 60 per cent. more functioning health clinics, nearly 2,000 schools have been built or rehabilitated and 60,000 former combatants have been disarmed. Major road rehabilitation is connecting major urban centres and Afghanistan with its neighbours. Reliable electricity supply is being restored in urban centres and rural electrification programmes are underway. The telecommunications sector is growing fast, connecting businesses and people in Afghanistan.
	DFID support to the National Rural Access Programme (£18 million) is helping to build essential infrastructure such as irrigation schemes, roads and bridges. Under this programme nearly 8,000 km of roads have been built or repaired, as well as schools, health clinics and water schemes. The programme has also generated over 13 million days of labour. DFID support to the National Solidarity Programme (£17 million) is helping local communities through elected Community Development Councils (CDCs) to identify what development is most needed in their areas and then receive grants to undertake their work. The programme has funded over 17,000 projects in the areas of agriculture, education, health, irrigation, power supply, transport and water supply.
	None the less, the challenges remain great. While progress has been good there is a long way to go: DFID recognises this. DFID's Interim Strategy for Afghanistan 2005-06 states that the highest immediate priority is to stabilise the country, to ensure the Government are able to deliver services nationwide and establish the rule of law within a democratic political system that safeguards human rights.
	DFID recently participated in a joint evaluation of Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan, 2001-05, with Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden. This focused on assessing the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency impact and coherence of the assistance and identifies the lessons learned. It concluded that assistance to Afghanistan has produced important results to date, but for sustainable impact, long term development and peace-keeping is needed. I will ensure copies of this are placed in the Library.

Millennium Development Goals

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent progress has been made on meeting the Millennium Development Goals; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The world is on track to meet the poverty reduction and hunger goal. The most recent official data at global level show that between 1990 and 2002, the percentage of people living on less than $1 a day in the developing world dropped from 28 to 19 per cent. However, progress across regions varies. The proportion of people in Asia living on less than $1 a day dropped by nearly a quarter of a billion over that period. In sub-Saharan Africa, the goal is seriously off track, and although the poverty rate did not increase, the number of people living in extreme poverty increased by 140 million.
	Progress towards the other seven Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is assessed using data up to between 2003 and 2005 depending on the goals. Progress towards these goals varies. For example, reducing child mortality is on track in Latin America, South East Asia and North Africa, and slightly off track in most other regions. There is less progress towards goal 6 (combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases), which is seriously off track for at least one of the targets in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Oceania and the Commonwealth of Independent States both in Europe and Asia. Progress towards environmental sustainability is mixed, with most regions off track for some targets and on track for others. On current rates of progress, sub-Saharan Africa will not meet any of the goals by 2015.
	The recently published 2006 UN Millennium Development Goals Report, which can be found on http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mdg/default.aspx, gives a comprehensive account of progress to date on each of the goals, and how great an effort remains necessary if they are to be met. DFID's 2006 Departmental Report includes an annex on the UK progress towards MDG8. A copy of the report is available in the House of Commons Library.
	Because the situation worsened in Africa, the UK has placed Africa at the forefront of our campaign for more and better aid. Out of the 25 key countries on which DFID focuses its work, 16 are in Africa. The recent White Paper indicates what DFID sets out to do with respect to governance, basic services, climate change and the international system, which would all help make further progress towards meeting the MDGs.

Palestine

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact of the availability of health facilities for Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank on the quality of care; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: DFID is providing support to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs to help in monitoring the state of health care services in Gaza and the West Bank. Most health facilities have remained open since the start of the year, however, recent reports indicate that the strike by Palestinian authority workers that began on 23 August has led to reduced services being offered in hospitals and health centres across the West Bank. Gaza hospitals remain relatively unaffected. The UN Relief Works Agency, which provides services for the refugee population, has reported that there is an increase in the number of non-refugee families using their immunisation service.

Sahel (Harvest Failure)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance the UK is offering to  (a) Nigeria,  (b) Mali,  (c) Mauritania and  (d) Burkina Faso following the failure of the harvests in the Sahel; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Extreme poverty, marginal livelihoods, and other chronic issues lie at the heart of the crisis which affected the Sahel in 2005, with inadequate rainfall, and locust infestation in 2004, adding to the problem. This situation led to deficits in the 2004 harvest, further antagonised by extreme food-price rises, and reductions in the poorest populations' access to food. In 2006, following adequate rainfall and with food production expected to be above the five-year average, the humanitarian situation remains relatively stable, but, due to longer-term chronic vulnerabilities, the burden of acute childhood malnutrition remains high in some areas, and livelihoods remain precarious. DFID's response is as follows:
	 (a) Niger—In 2005 DFID was one of the first donors to respond to the crisis in Niger providing £3.25 million to the initial relief effort, and followed up with a further £2 million to aid the recovery process and ease further humanitarian stresses through into 2006. In 2006-07 DFID is providing an additional £1.5 million to continue the response to the high rates of childhood malnutrition that prevail, and to boost food-security through the on-going hungry season, since the legacy of the 2005 crisis persist.. This funding is being provided through United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who are engaged in continuing relief operations in the country.
	 (b) Mali—In 2005-06 DFID provided £550,000 through the World Food Programme's (WFP) emergency feeding programme, which enabled 175,000 children under the age of five to receive vital support.
	 (c) Mauritania—Food aid needs remain high. In 2006-07 DFID has contributed £250,000 through the World Food Programme (WFP) to support feeding activities for 50,000 malnourished children and vulnerable mothers in the badly affected agro-pastoral zone in the south east of the country.
	 (d) Burkina Faso—In 2005-06 DFID provided £105,000 through Catholic Relief Services for their emergency food assistance and livelihood protection programme, enabling 57,000 vulnerable people to receive emergency support. DFID will continue to monitor the humanitarian situation in the Sahel closely, and will maintain its flexible humanitarian support to short-term emergency, recovery and mitigation needs over the coming year. Simultaneously, DFID is planning to allocate an additional £1.5 million over the next three years to tackle longer-term nutritional vulnerabilities in the Sahel region, and is exploring longer-term options for strengthening food-security.

Somali Refugees (Kenya)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to assist the government of Kenya in helping refugees fleeing conflict in Somalia.

Hilary Benn: Since the beginning of 2006 it is estimated that 34,000 Somalis have sought refuge in Kenya, 14,000 of these since 1 September. This adds to an existing Somali refugee caseload of 160,000. Many of these new arrivals say they are seeking asylum in Kenya because of fear of new fighting in Somalia.
	The Kenyan Government have continued in their worthy tradition of welcoming refugees. However the bulk of the support to the refugees in the camps where they are being sheltered will be provided by the international relief community. In order to seek resources for the additional requirements and for ongoing support ton the existing caseload of refugees, a UN humanitarian Flash Appeal for $35,272,035 was launched on Monday 15 October. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has already contributed $3,500,000. This has been split $1,738,000 to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the balance $1,762,000 to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
	The UK is the largest contributor to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) having contributed $69,928,000 out of the total of $267,281,225 donated so far. It is also a major supporter of UNHCR. As of 30 September this year we were their fifth largest bilateral donor of funds in 2006 with $45 million. The UK also supports UNHCR operations through its funding to the EC, and to the CERF.
	The UK is also a major supporter of humanitarian operations in Somalia where we have committed £17,088,534 since April 2005. UK also continues to actively support the peace process, including the reconciliation process between the Islamic Courts and the Transitional Federal Government. The next talks are scheduled for the end of October, and the UK is calling on all sides to take the necessary steps to ensure a peaceful way forward.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to tackle sexual violence in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member to the answers provided by my right hon. Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State (Mr. McCartney) to Parliamentary Questions 93519 and 93529 (12 October 2006).

Sudan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the current level of UK funding to the African Union mission in Darfur is.

Hilary Benn: The UK is a leading supporter of the African Union (AU) Mission in Darfur (AMIS). We were its first donor, and have to date provided£52 million of assistance. This includes a contribution of £20 million in the current financial year. This is being used for budgetary support, to fund military observers, and to airlift AU troops to and from Darfur. Following the AU's decision to extend AMIS' mandate to 31 December, we are now looking to see what else we can provide.

Breast Cancer

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of breast cancer have been  (a) diagnosed and  (b) cured in the East Midlands in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 October 2006:
	.
	Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancers registered in the East Midlands government office region between 1995 and 2004 are given in Table 1 below.
	It is not possible to say whether or not patients are cured. For most cancers, but not breast cancer, five-year survival rates are often taken to be 'cure' rates. Information on long-term breast cancer survival up to 2003 is available for all government office regions and can be found on the NS website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=14172&More=n
	The information for the East Midlands is given in Table 2 below.
	Five-year age-standardised relative survival (%) from breast cancer in the East Midlands government office region for patients diagnosed between 1994-96 and 1997-99 andfollowed up between the ends of 2001 and 2004 are given in Table 3 below.
	
		
			  Table 1: Newly diagnosed cases of breast cancers( 1)  registered in the East Midlands, 1995 to 2003 
			   Number 
			 1995 2,489 
			 1996 2,602 
			 1997 2,640 
			 1998 2,784 
			 1999 2,962 
			 2000 2,910 
			 2001 2,874 
			 2002 2,976 
			 2003 3,239 
			 2004 3,521 
			 1 'Breast cancer' is defined by codes C50 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10) Source:  Office for National StatisticsYears 2000-2003—Table 4 'Cancer Statistics: registrations, England' series MB1http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlink=8843&Pos1UColRank=2&Rank=272 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Breast cancer—predicted long-term relative survival for the East Midlands: women aged 15-99 years at diagnosis (age-standardised( 1) ), period approach (2001-03) 
			  Percentage 
			Duration of survival 
			 Women(2) Deaths(3) 1 year 5 years 10 years 15 years 
			 22,159 3,158 94 80 69 66 
			 (1)Age-standardisation with age-specific weights given by the proportions of women diagnosed with breast cancer in England and Wales during 1986-90 in each of six age groups (15-, 40-, 50-, 60-, 70-, 80-99 years).(2)Number of women included in the analyses.(3) Number of deaths occurring among these women during the stated period. Source:  Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Five-year age-standardised relative survival (percentage) from breast cancer for the East Midlands 
			   Percentage 
			 Patients diagnosed in 1997-99 and followed up to 31-12-04 77 
			 Patients diagnosed in 1995-97 and followed up to 31-12-02 73 
			 Patients diagnosed in 1994-96 and followed up to 31-12-01 74 
			  Source:  Office for National Statisticshttp://www.Statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=11991&Pos=2&ColRank=1&Rank=272

Care Vouchers

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the economic case for the use of care vouchers to help employees with caring responsibilities to purchase additional care and support for the person to whom they provide care.

Edward Balls: The Government have no plans to introduce care vouchers in this area but it is always willing to listen to representations.
	The Government have to look carefully at the costs and benefits of any proposal when making an assessment of the economic case for intervention.

Child Trust Funds

Joan Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated value is of a child trust fund for a baby born on 20 October 2006 on reaching 18 years; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: Due to the many factors, such as parental contributions and Government endowments, which affect the final value of a child trust fund accountwe are unable to provide a single estimate. Thechild trust fund calculator website at http://www.childtrustfund.gov.uk/templates/Calculator__ 1250.aspx can be used to provide an estimated final value for the individual circumstances of a given child.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters of23 August 2006 and 11 September 2006 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mrs. Sharun J Palin.

Dawn Primarolo: I have replied to the right hon. Member.

Financial Services Authority

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Financial Services Authority plans to finalise the Handbook rules and guidance to implement CP06/3.

Edward Balls: I understand that the Financial Services Authority plan to make the rules and guidance implementing the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) in two new FSA Handbook sourcebooks (GENPRU and BIPRU) at the FSA Board meeting on 25 October. The legal instruments should be available on the FSA's website from the 27 October. There are a small number of transitional provisions, which, because of their complexity, the FSA plan to make as separate legal instruments at the November meeting of the FSA Board.

Gift Aid

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to  (a) (i) HM Revenue and Customs and (ii) charities of processing Gift Aid and  (b) the Exchequer of Gift Aid tax relief; and how much in the period was (A) reimbursed to charities and (B) retained by higher-rate taxpayers in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Edward Balls: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not distinguish the costs of processing Gift Aid from it's other activities in relation to charities and charitable giving and does not have information available to identify the cost of processing Gift Aid by charities.
	Details of Gift Aid relief reimbursed to charitiesand retained by higher-rate taxpayers is available tothe public on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/charities/menu.htm Provisional figures for 2005-06 show total repayments to charities under Gift Aid of £728 million and £180 million of Gift Aid relief for higher-rate taxpayers.

Parliamentary Questions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Department's correspondence dated4 October 2004, reference 2006/05 100642, why HM Revenue and Customs has not given a substantive response to the letter of 15 May 2006 from the hon. Member for Yeovil; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Neither HMRC nor the Treasury have a record of having received this letter. My officials have asked the hon. Member's office on more than one occasion for a copy of the letter, but it has not yet been forthcoming.

Parliamentary Questions

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Paymaster General will replyto the hon. Member for West Worcestershire's letter of 29 June 2006 about TOGs Calendar.

Dawn Primarolo: I have written to the hon. Member about this matter and said that I would be writing to him again shortly.

Population Statistics

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the mid year estimates made in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004 and  (c) 2005 were of the population in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne; and what the estimates of future population were for each year.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 October 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question about what the mid year estimates made in (a) 2003, (b) 2004 and (c) 2005 were of the population in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne; and what the estimates of future population based on them were for each year. (95409)
	The attached table provides the requested data for mid-2003, mid-2004 and mid-2005 and 2004-based projections for 2006 to 2010. In addition, projections for 2015, 2020 and 2025 are also shown to indicate future projected trend.
	
		
			  Table 1: Mid-2003 to mid-2005 population estimates and mid-2006 to mid-2025 population projections (2004-based) 
			  Thousand 
			   Newcastle upon Tyne 
			  Population estimates  
			 Mid-2003 266.6 
			 Mid-2004 269.5 
			 Mid-2005 276.4 
			   
			  Population projections( 1)  
			 Mid-2006 273.3 
			 Mid-2007 274.5 
			 Mid-2008 275.4 
			 Mid-2009 276.3 
			 Mid-2010 277.2 
			 Mid-2015 280.8 
			 Mid-2020 283.9 
			 Mid-2025 287.5 
			 (1 )The population projections shown in this table are taken from the 2004-based subnational population projections, the latest set of projections currently available. Therefore they are not consistent with the 2005 mid year estimates and there is a discontinuity in the series as presented between years 2005 and 2006.   Source:  Office for National Statistics

Tax Incentive Financing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to permit local authorities to use tax incentive financing for  (a) regeneration and  (b) infrastructure projects; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Sir Michael Lyons is currently undertaking an independent review into local government function, role and finance.

Civil Nuclear Security

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has asked the Director of Civil Nuclear Security to investigate the adequacy of the transport security statement attached to the consignment of irradiated nuclear fuel involved in the incident in which a fake bomb was placed on a train carrying spent nuclear fuel in a siding in North West London.

Malcolm Wicks: The transportation of spent nuclear fuel is carried out in a secure manner, in accordance with stringent security regulations—the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (NISR). These regulations are administered and enforced by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), who regulate the security of such movements of spent nuclear fuel.
	OCNS have carried out a thorough investigation into the incident referred to. This investigation included reviewing the existing Transport Security Statement (TSS) for Direct Rail Services (DRS), the nuclear rail freight operating company in question. While as a result of the investigation some minor amendments to the TSS have been made, OCNS remain satisfied that standards detailed within that TSS were sufficiently robust to prevent the theft or sabotage of nuclear material and that DRS were fully compliant with the TSS at that time.

Coal-fired Stations

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many coal fired power stations in the UK conform to the requirements of the waste incineration directive concerning the burning of non-fossil fuel.

Malcolm Wicks: There is one coal fired (and other fuels) power generating station in the UK that has been authorised as meeting the requirements of the waste incineration directive.

Departmental Childcare Facilities

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what childcare  (a) provision and  (b) assistance is available to his Department's staff.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DTI staff in central London have access to a 32-place holiday play-scheme in our1 Victoria Street building, which is highly rated by both parents and children for its quality. DTI HQ staff in Cardiff have access to a local holiday play-scheme, which is situated within a school.
	Costs for  (a) the Department for the holiday play scheme in 2005-06 were £59,936 and  (b) £14 per day per child for an employee using the holiday play-scheme in London and £12 in Cardiff. Each play-scheme place is subsidised by the Department, the full daily rate being £31.00 in London and £24 in Cardiff.
	In April 2006 the DTI introduced the Salary Sacrifice scheme, which is available to all parents and carers, and enables them to make savings on their child care fees.
	The Department is fully committed to providing an employment package which supports working parents and carers. DTIs provision is set within the wider context of an ambitious programme to support flexible working at all grades. DTI consults its staff and unions regularly on these issues. DTIs clear support for working parents has enabled us, over the last decade, to retain many talented parents who might otherwise have left the workplace.
	The DTI does not hold long-term waiting list for places for the DTI play-schemes. If the DTI play-schemes are over subscribed on any given day, a list of requests for that date is kept on a first come first served basis. If a place becomes available, the place is offered to the next child on the list.

Energy Liabilities Committee

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many meetings the energy liabilities committee had with  (a) the Union of Democratic Mineworkers and  (b) Vendside in (i) 1998 and(ii) 1999.

Malcolm Wicks: The Energy Liabilities Committee neither met the Union of Democratic Mineworkers nor Vendside in 1998 or 1999.

Energy Saving Schemes

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to increase publicity for energy saving schemes designed for small and medium sized enterprises.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are already supporting a range of activities seeking to promote energy saving schemes to small and medium-sized enterprises. The Carbon Trust, the independent company set up and funded by the Government to help businesses cut their carbon emissions and increase their energy efficiency, has run an extensive communications programme to publicise its services to small and medium-sized enterprises. Its main campaign of 2006—"Carbon Costs"—targeted this group in particular. The campaign highlighted the 20 per cent. of financial savings most enterprises can make through low and no-cost energy saving measures, as well as the environmental benefits of reducing carbon emissions. It ran on national television and other media and was one of the largest campaigns of its kind focused on small and medium-sized enterprises ever seen in the UK.
	The Carbon Trust also promotes interest-free energy saving loans to small and medium-sized enterprises and has significant campaigns planned in this area through the remainder of 2006 and into 2007. I understand that the trust will continue to promote the financial and environmental benefits of energy saving to this group and is planning significant promotional activity at similar levels to this year, through 2007 and 2008.

Energy Technologies Institute

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which companies have committed themselves as partners in the new energy technologies institute recently launched by his Department; what financial commitments have been made by each company; and over what time periods the financial commitments apply.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry published the Prospectus for the Energy Technologies Institute on 14 September. It is envisaged that around 10 core industry partners will be required for this public private partnership, each committed to making an equal contribution of up to£5 million per year for up to 10 years to match the Government's commitment. Four of the world's biggest energy companies have already offered support—BP, E.ON UK, Shell and EDF Energy.

Energy Technologies Institute

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which  (a) institutions and  (b) businesses based in Wales have been invited to participate in the new energy technologies institute.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry published a Prospectus for the Energy Technologies Institute on 14 September. It was prepared in collaboration with the four companies that have already agreed to be involved (BP, E.ON UK, EDF and Shell), and aims to seek broader participation and wider views from organisations and businesses across the UK, and beyond. To date four organisations from Wales have responded: 1 large company; two SMEs and 1 NGO.

Gas Network

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many households in each constituency in the north-east region are not connected to the gas network.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government do not hold detailed information about access to the gas network. DTI's regional consumption statistics include information about the number of gas meters relative to the number of households in areas within north-east England. These statistics give some indication of levels of penetration of the gas network. The statistics maybe accessed at http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file27542.xls.

Healthcare Sector

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions his Department has had with officials from  (a) the European Commission and  (b) the governments of other EU member states to discuss the liberalisation of the health care sector.

Ian McCartney: The UK considers public services to be excluded from the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services both in respect of UK public services and those of other WTO members. In addition, the UK's ability to maintain public health and education services is guaranteed by the fact that governments can choose in which sectors and to what extend to make commitments.
	The Department is engaged in ongoing discussions with the European Commission and other EU member states with regards to liberalisation across a broad cross-section of services sectors.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the funding in real terms will be for  (a) solar photovoltaics and  (b) all other microrenewable technologies under the Low Carbon Building Programme; and what the total funding was for each under the Clearskies and Solar Photovoltaics initiatives which preceded it.

Malcolm Wicks: The Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase One, with a budget of £28.5 million, covers a range of technologies. Stream Two operated on a first come, first served basis, and Stream Two operates on a competitive basis.
	Currently we do not earmark specific funding for the different technologies so it is not possible to state what the level of funding will be for solar photovoltaics compared to other renewable technologies. However, we will continue to review funding support going forward.
	Under Clear Skies the total funding was£13.25 million and under the Major PV programme the total funding was £31.75 million. In addition, Phase Two of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, which is currently being finalised, will provide a further£50 million.

Micro-generation

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the technical changes that would need to be made to the national electricity distribution grid to accommodate the growth of micro-generation; and what estimate he has made of the cost of such changes.

Malcolm Wicks: A study carried out by the Energy Saving Trust on behalf of the DTI (Potential for Microgeneration: Study and Analysis) assessed the implications of substantial microgeneration on the UK electricity system. This built on an earlier study carried out for the DTI by Mott McDonald (System Integration of Additional Microgeneration). The EST report suggests that, for relatively high export levels, the costs could be anywhere between £122 million to £240 million.
	The Energy Review Report announced that DTI and Ofgem will lead a review of the incentives and barriers to distributed electricity generation including CHP, which will report in the first half of 2007. Among other issues, this work will look at economic and other incentives on distributed network operators to connect new generators and to upgrade distribution networks in order to accommodate increasing amounts of distributed generation (including microgeneration).

Miners' Compensation

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for  (a) miners' hearing loss,  (b) vibration white finger and  (c) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been paid in Bolsover constituency in each of the last seven years.

Malcolm Wicks: The number of payments that have been made in miners hearing loss (NIHL), vibration white finger (VWF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) claims in the Bolsover constituency are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   NIHL  VWF  COPD 
			 2000 326 72 219 
			 2001 807 332 655 
			 2002 409 581 1,043 
			 2003 206 955 1,971 
			 2004 147 934 1,596 
			 2005 171 1,102 2,575 
			 2006 80 934 1,529

Nuclear Power

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which public bodies have submitted information to his Department indicating which existing nuclear power stations could be co-located with a further nuclear power station.

Malcolm Wicks: A number of responses were received to the Energy Review consultation from public bodies. These responses, and all others made during the consultation, are available on the Department's website.
	The consultation responses are available at www.dti.gov.uk/energv/review/consultation-submissions/page27883.html

Nuclear Power

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what  (a) primary and  (b) secondary legislation is required to permit private companies to construct nuclear power plants.

Malcolm Wicks: Permission to construct onshore power stations of any type with a capacity of greater than 50 MW, is granted by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry under section 36 of Electricity Act 1989.

Oil Industry

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the costs to  (a) UK oil refiners,  (b) fuel suppliers delivering above 100,000 tonnes and  (c) consumers of fuel of the removal of the UK derogation on the compulsory stocking obligation provided by EU Directive 2006/67/EC.

Malcolm Wicks: EU member states are required to hold oil stocks equal to 90 days' consumption, for use in the event of disruption of global oil supplies. The UK, as a producer, has a derogation reducing its obligation by 25 per cent. and therefore currently has an obligation to hold stocks equal to 67.5 days' consumption. As UK production declines, the derogation will be phased out. This will be a gradual process. We expect the full 25 per cent. derogation to continue until UK crude oil production falls below25 per cent. of refinery demand, which on current trends will be between 2010 and 2015, and the full90 days' obligation to be reached when UK production ends. We have not estimated the precise cost to the parties mentioned, but the overall cost of complying with the obligation will increase over time by some 33 per cent. and following a public consultation we are working with industry on a new basis for our stocking system which will ensure that the UK can continue to meet its obligations in future.

Oil Industry

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what effect the UK's status as a net importer of crude oil has on the UK derogation on the compulsory stocking obligation provided by EU Directive 2006/67/EC; and when he expects the derogation to be removed.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK derogation reducing by25 per cent. its EU obligation to hold oil stocks for use in the event of disruption of global oil supplies is based on its status as a producer, not as a net exporter. We expect the full derogation to continue until UK crude oil production falls below 25 per cent. of refinery demand, which on current trends will be between 2010 and 2015, and the full 90 days' obligation to be reached when UK production ends.
	Once we become a net importer of crude oil and oil products combined the UK will also have an obligation to hold stocks as a member of the International Energy Agency. Countries with EU and IEA obligations can use the same stocks to meet both obligations. EU obligations are based on consumption and IEA obligations on net imports, and meeting both obligations will not involve a net increase beyond the increase in the EU obligation until towards the end of UK production.

Peterborough Renewable Energy Ltd

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the public inquiry into Peterborough Renewable Energy Limited's plans for a sustainable resource and recycling facility at land off Storeys Bar road in Peterborough to take place; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Arrangements for the public inquiry are in hand and the details will be announced as soon as they are finalised.

Radioacrive Waste

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria he plans to use to calculate the full share of costs incurred to manage radioactive waste arising from prospective new build reactors in order to recover these costs from the operators.

Malcolm Wicks: The final report of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management was published on 31 July 2006. The Government and Devolved Administrations will respond in a formal statement to Parliament, setting out how work to manage long-term waste will be taken forward. The long-term waste management solution developed by Government will factor in waste from new build including an assessment of how new build waste would affect the cost of delivering the national waste management solution.
	The Energy Review Report 'The Energy Challenge' presented to Parliament on 11 July 2006, established that private developers of new nuclear power stations will meet their full share of long-term waste management costs. Government intends to appoint an individual with senior management or financial experience of major capital investment projects to lead the development of arrangements for the costs associated with new build waste management.

Renewable Energy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Government spent on renewables in each of the last 20 years; and what estimate he has made of the level of private investment in renewables over the same period.

Malcolm Wicks: It would entail disproportionate cost to identify how much was spent by Government on research, grants and subsidies to promote renewable energy in each year of the last 20 years. However, the Government are investing around £500 million between 2002 and 2008 in capital grants, research and development into renewables and other low carbon technologies. Money that has already been allocated includes:£117 million in capital grants for round 1 offshore wind farms; approximately £66 million for biomass capital grants; £31 million for Solar PV; around £19 million a year for industry-led R and D and over £50 million for Marine Renewables, £42 million of which has been earmarked to kick start the construction of large scale demonstration wave and tidal demonstration projects around the UK.
	On top of this it should be added that the Chancellor announced in this year's Budget a further £50 million, on top of the £30 million that I had previously announced, for the Low Carbon Building Programme, which supports micro generation and energy efficiency measures.
	A breakdown of the spend on renewables each year from 1990-91 is however available and I would I refer the hon. Member to my reply on 12 September 2005,  Official Report, column 2262W.to the hon. Member for Leominster.
	With regards to private investment into renewable over the 20 year period, the Government have made no estimate.

Sustainable Buildings

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Low Carbon Buildings Programme budget is for household installations in 2006-07; and how much of that year's funding has been allocated.

Malcolm Wicks: The budget for year one of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme household stream is£3.5 million. To date, £3.56 million has been committed to successful projects on the basis that past experience leads us to believe that not all of these projects will go forward as expected.

Wind Farms

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which of his Department's  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials attended the annual conference of the British Wind Energy Association in Glasgow on 10 to 12 October; and if he will place in the Library copies of (i) speeches and (ii) documents presented to the conference by the Department.

Malcolm Wicks: No Ministers attended this year's BWEA conference.
	However, the officials from this Department who attended the conference at various times during the three days were; the Head of Energy Development Unit, the Deputy Director Renewables Policy and Development, along with eight staff from the 2010 target team, and two staff from the Renewables Obligation team.
	DTI officials made two presentations; one on "DTPs approach to aviation issues" and one on "Offshore electricity transmission", copies of the slides will be made available in the Libraries of the House. Other events officials took part in included chairing four of the conference sessions covering, aviation, economics and finance and offshore consenting and environmental research and attended workshops and meetings with members of the wind industry.

Animal Welfare

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the Government monitor the welfare of animals exported for slaughter abroad.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government are committed to the welfare of all animals during transport. Transporters involved in exports must be authorised and submit route plans before all export journeys. These plans are checked to ensure compliance with journey times before journeys may start.
	All animals are inspected by a local veterinary inspector prior to loading at the departure premises to ensure the animals meet health requirements and are fit for the intended journey. The State Veterinary Service also carries out additional random and targeted checks during loading at the departure premises or the port of departure.
	New European Union (EU) wide welfare in transport rules will come into force in January 2007 under Council Regulation No 1/2005. The UK supported the new regulation as it contains much to help improve animal welfare in transport, such as improved enforcement, and new training and authorisation procedures.

Animal Welfare

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many consignments of calves were exported from Dover on 11 October 2006; how many calves were included in each consignment; what the final destination of each consignment was; how long elapsed between the arrival of each consignment at Dover docks and the departure of the ship with the calves on board; why the departure of the ship was delayed; what proportion of the calves were still on a milk diet; whether the calves were provided with food and liquid while waiting at Dover docks to be loaded on to the ship; for what reason the calves were not taken to be unloaded and given food, liquid and rest; whether any calf was destroyed at Dover docks; whether the calves were unloaded and given food, liquid and 24 hours' rest after their arrival on the continent; and what arrangements he plans to put in place to prevent further lengthy delays at Dover docks.

Ben Bradshaw: On 11 October, there were six vehicles carrying 14 consignments of calves (totalling 1,167 animals). The consignments were destined for Belgium, France and Spain and spent between nine and a half and 15 hours at Dover port.
	The ship's departure was delayed for a number of reasons. Its sailing from Dover was originally delayed due to the late arrival of a vehicle. The vessel then had to leave its berth to accommodate another ferry and, on its return, had to wait for the tide to rise sufficiently for the loading ramp to be used. At Dunkerque, a further delay was caused when the pilot was diverted to other essential duties. On return to Dover, staff from the State Veterinary Service (SVS) re-examined the animals to check their condition before departure. Before this check could be completed, the vessel had to leave berth again to accommodate a ferry before the calves could finally be loaded and the ship could depart.
	All the calves were considered to be unweaned. During the morning, SVS staff at Dover considered that they needed to be fed and offered liquid. However, there is no staging point in the south east and no facility within the port to make up warm milk formula. No single UK staging point could take all the animals so the vehicles were sent to the nearest suitable staging point or destination, as appropriate. Four vehicles were served with notices to proceed to a staging pointclose to the port of arrival and unload the animals for 24 hours' rest, feed and water. Checks are being carried out to confirm if the vehicles went to the staging point as directed. If they did not, it would be an offence.
	One calf was humanely destroyed at Dover because it was in a state of collapse.
	SVS staff are working with local authority enforcement officers to determine appropriate enforcement action and potential offences committed. We will also be addressing the broader issues of effective communication and contingency planning with those engaged in the live calf export trade.

Buncefield

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the presentation given by the Environment Agency to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he visited the Buncefield site on 18 July 2006.

Ian Pearson: I will arrange for copies of the Environment Agency presentation, given to the Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government on her visit to the Buncefield oil storage depot, to be placed in the Library of the House.

Energy Performance Certificate

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the external costs of fuels have been incorporated into the energy performance certificate energy rating price signals.

Ian Pearson: The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) will be used to determine the energy performance indicators to be included in the Energy Performance Certificate. One of those indicators will be the SAP Rating; a fuel cost based indicator of a dwelling's energy efficiency.
	The fuel prices used reflect the fuel costs alone. They do not include externalities, such as the costs associated with undertaking safety inspections or servicing heating equipment. These external costs vary considerably across the country and are generally incurred on a voluntary basis by consumers. The exception being landlord safety checks on gas equipment.

Pollution Incident

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) causes,  (b) extent and  (c) consequences were of the recent incident of Thames Water polluting a stretch of Dagenham Brook in Waltham Forest; what remedial activity was undertaken; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Thames Water Utilities Ltd. has pleaded guilty to polluting a controlled watercourse—Dagenham Brook—on 8 August 2005 with poisonous, noxious or polluting matter under section 85 of the Water Resources Act 1991.
	Thames Water had failed to maintain storm tanks which allowed sewage to pour into the river through holes in the joints between precast concrete sections which made up the tank walls. These joints contained a sealing compound, which had failed in a number of places.
	The sewage contaminated nearly two miles of the Dagenham Brook, which then discharges in the River Lee at New Spitalfields Market, in Leyton.
	The impact on the river was significant; the river was a cloudy grey colour and there was a strong sewage smell along the affected stretch of the river. Dissolved oxygen levels in the river at Leabridge Road were recorded as 2.4 per cent. The minimum level of dissolved oxygen necessary to sustain fish life is typically around 25 to 30 per cent.
	A fleet of tankers worked for three days to remove the sewage from the river at two locations, Orient Way and New Spitalfields Market, in Leyton, which although failing to reduce the impact on Dagenham Brook did alleviate the problem in the River Lee.
	Once the storm tanks were identified as the source of the pollution Thames Water began to drain them down to prevent further pollution.

Roadkill

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's  (a) policy,  (b) practice and  (c) procedures are on the collection of corpses of wildlife killed by road traffic.

Ben Bradshaw: The Highways Agency is responsible for the clearance of the trunk road and motorway network in England following accidents or other incidents, including collisions involving animals and vehicles.
	The guidance for responding to incidents comes from the Highways Agency's Trunk Road Maintenance Manual (Volume 2: Routine and Winter Maintenance Code, paragraph 1.2.3 and 1.12.3), which requires the provision of facilities to
	"...clear the highway following an accident/spillage, or any other incident, which requires attendance under emergency conditions..."
	and; for
	"Debris encountered by inspectors and other maintenance personnel in traffic lanes and on hard shoulders, and which constitutes an immediate hazard, shall be removed immediately, if reasonably practical."
	Local highway authorities are responsible for all other roads, including the collection of animal corpses. There is no instruction to them as to actual methods, but they tend to follow guidance set out in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 10, and the Highways Agency's Manual of Contract Documents for Highways Works.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment hasbeen made of the level of interdependence betweenthe  (a) illicit and  (b) legitimate economy in Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: A number of studies have investigated the linkages between the illicit and the legal economies in Afghanistan. The World Bank Country Economic Report "Afghanistan: State Building, Sustaining Growth and Reducing Poverty" and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Selected Issues Paper 2006: "Macroeconomic Impact of the Drug Economy and Counter-Narcotics Efforts" suggest that the opium economy is a major source of investment in durable goods, housing, construction and trade. Income generated in the illicit sector fuels higher consumption (spending) in the economy, creating more demand for locally produced goods and imports. However, they also emphasise that the negative effects of the opium economy—insecurity, diminished respect for the ruleof law and weak state institutions—undermine the investment climate and reduce the prospects for equitable and sustained growth. Furthermore, a large part of the income generated by exporting opium is invested abroad by traffickers, which is effectively 'capital flight' out of the country. The IMF and the World Bank conclude that, in economic terms, the drug trade causes more damage than benefit to the Afghan economy. It is worth noting since 2002 the growth of the licit sector at double digit rates has meant that opium as a share of total economic activity has declined from nearly 40 per cent. to just over 25 per cent.

Afghanistan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what infrastructure projects and improvements to public services have been implemented since the British involvement in Afghanistan began in 2001.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	Since 2001, DFID has spent over £390 million on reconstruction and development in Afghanistan. Over this period there has been real progress. Regarding infrastructure, major road rehabilitation is connecting major urban centres and Afghanistan with its neighbours. Reliable electricity supply is being restored. The telecommunications sector is growing fast, connecting businesses and people in Afghanistan. Public services are also improving; there are now 60 per cent. more functioning health clinics, 35,000 lives have been saved from routine immunisations; six million children have returned to school, over a third of them girls and 13,000 girls' and boys' primary and secondary schools have been built. Over 60,000 police have been trained over this period.
	DFID contributes a large proportion of its support through the Government budget. In 2006-07 75 per cent. of our £102 million budget will be channelled in this way. This helps the Government implement their own infrastructure and public service plans. DFID also specifically supports the National Rural Access Programme (£18 million) which is helping to build essential infrastructure such as irrigation schemes, roads and bridges. Under this programme nearly 8,000 km of roads have been built or repaired, as well as schools, health clinics and water schemes. The programme has also generated over 13 million days of labour. Additionally, DFID support to the National Solidarity Programme (£17 million) is helping local communities through elected Community Development Councils (CDCs) to identify what development is most needed in their areas and then receive grants to undertake their work. The programme has funded over 17,000 projects in the areas of agriculture, education, health, irrigation, power supply, transport and water supply.

Afghanistan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her assessment is of the effectiveness of international training and recruitment programmes for Afghan  (a) police and  (b) soldiers.

Kim Howells: Germany has been leading efforts to train and reform the Afghan National Police with assistance from the US. Since August 2002, there have been some considerable achievements. Over 50,000 police of all ranks and branches have been trained at the re-established Police Academy and at five regional training centres. A pay and rank review is underway, aiming to reduce the current top-heavy structure and raise police salaries in order to attract the best candidates. An international conference on border management and police was co-hosted by Afghanistan and Germany in Qatar in February. It endorsed the findings that replenishment of the Law and Order Trust Fund, used to partly fund police salaries, was critical to the success of police pay and rank reform. We support this finding and the valuable work that the international community, in particular Germany and the US, are putting into police training and reform.
	The Afghan National Army has been built almost from scratch since 2001 and we are still in early stages of training and mentoring. Nevertheless, there has been good progress on the training of soldiers: over28,000 Afghan troops have now been recruited and trained at the Kabul Military Training Centre. The Afghan Minister for Defence recently announced that the five Regional Commands are now operational and there are now 34,000 soldiers, NCOs and officers in the Afghan National Army (ANA). Already the ANA is regularly contributing to resolving conflicts in the UK sectors and we will continue to work closely with them to build their capacity.

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) financial assistance and  (b) advice is given by the Government to the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: The Government gives no direct financial or advisory support to the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Afghanistan. The UK is working with other international donors to support the Afghan Government to define its development strategy for the next five years (the Afghan National Development Strategy). Gender equality is a key theme and the UK. is actively working to ensure gender equality issues are fully integrated into the strategy's benchmarks and outputs. Separately, the UK provides £2.25 million in funding to seven projects aimed at improving gender equality throughout Afghanistan. These include the BBC World Service's Pashtun Service Woman's Hour Programme, Womankind's Women Empowerment Programme and ActionAid's Afghan Women Programme.

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps officials in her Department have taken to promote the representation of women on community development councils in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	A review of the Afghan Government National Solidarity Programme (NSP) assessed in detail women's inclusion in the Community Development Councils (CDCs) that had been established under the programme. The review found that to date there had been insufficient women's participation in the processes of community decision-making and project implementation, and limited allocation of project funds for women. Slow progress in the area of women's participation was attributed mainly to cultural opposition. In some cases only small and unsustainable projects for women were accepted by the communities. However, gradual change is occurring as the NSP gains community acceptance.
	In response to the review, DFID has endorsed the recommendation for more effort to be placed on improving women's participation, but this has to be done gradually to ensure communities do not respond negatively. DFID has also endorsed the recommendation that, where necessary, female-only CDCs can be created. Those female-only CDCs that have already been established have become a forum for discussion on other relevant issues (health, domestic violence, literacy, etc.) that women could not discuss openly before in some mixed gender CDCs.
	One case highlighted in a forthcoming DFID publication of a success story in Afghanistan, is that of Aquilah Jan, who is a chair of the CDC in Ghor Province. She believes in the three years since the CDCs started, there have been many changes for women. Many girls are encouraged to go to school and five women are in the CDC and four in the Provincial Council.

Afghanistan

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how she expects the level of opium production in Afghanistan to change in the next 12 months.

Kim Howells: The planting season will begin in the south and east of Afghanistan in the next few weeks. Farmers' decisions on whether or not to plant opium poppy are complex. Economic factors are the main incentive but other factors such as insecurity and weak governance also play a role. While there was a significant increase in the total poppy production this year, in areas of Afghanistan where access to governance, security and development has improved, reductions achieved in 2005 were sustained and in some cases improved upon.
	The Government of Afghanistan is undertaking an extensive pre-planting information campaign to dissuade fanners from growing poppy. It is, however, too early to predict the levels of production for next year.

Bangladesh

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the operation of immunity from prosecution for certain sectors of society, including parts of the armed forces, in Bangladesh; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We understand that subsequent to "Operation Clean Heart", a joint operation carried out by the Bangladeshi Army together with other security forces in 2002, constitutional immunity was enacted retrospectively, in relation to a significant number of deaths in custody. We support the right of the Bangladeshi Government to take legitimate measures to maintain law and order, but impunity in the law enforcement and security forces remains an issue of serious concern. The Rapid Action Battalion, a joint civilian/military unit that has wide Bangladeshi Government and public support, continues to be involved in "cross-fire" incidents which have often resulted in the death of suspects being apprehended.
	We expect all law enforcement agencies to abide by the rule of law at all times. The Government are working with the Government of Bangladesh to help address the general issue of over-aggressive behaviour by the Bangladeshi police. The Department for International Development will contribute £5 million over three years to a UN Development Programme project which aims to review and modernise the police training curricula. In February, the UK funded a programme of Ethical Investigation Training sessions around the country on policing in line with international human rights norms.
	We have made it clear in our contacts with the Government and Opposition in Bangladesh that there is no room for political violence in a democracy and, that we will be monitoring the role of the police and that of the military carefully during the election period.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent contact the British high commission in Cyprus has had with Turkish Cypriots living in the south of Cyprus; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: While our high commission in Nicosia monitors the situation of Turkish Cypriots living in southern Cyprus, the regularity of contact has decreased since the opening of the Green Line. Freedom of movement across the island has now greatly increased, with over10 million crossings since its opening in 2003, granting greater access to these communities by Turkish Cypriots in northern Cyprus. None the less, our high commission in Nicosia maintains contact with Cypriot civil society south of the Green Line, including Turkish Cypriots.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the British high commission in Cyprus last visited enclavedGreek Cypriots living in the  (a) north of Cyprus and  (b) Karpas Peninsula; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Prior to the opening of the Green Line, our high commission in Nicosia maintained frequent contact with Greek Cypriots living in northern Cyprus, including those in the Karpas Peninsula. Freedom of movement across the island has now greatly increased, with over 10 million crossings since its opening in 2003, granting greater access to these communities from Greek Cypriots south of the Green Line. Their interests are now protected by both the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and representatives of the Cyprus Government. Our high commission in Nicosia no longer maintains the same frequency of contact, but does stay in touch with both the Cyprus Government and UNFICYP regarding the situation. A representative of the high commission visited the UN Police Force in the Karpas to discuss the welfare of Greek Cypriots in northern Cyprus on 14 May 2006. A meeting with the community is planned to take place shortly.

Democratic Republic of Congo Officials (UK Travel)

Eric Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent advice her Department has offered to officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo planning to travel in the UK following the recent assault in London on Mr Okutundu, Chief of Staff to President Kabila.

Ian McCartney: We have offered no specific advice to visiting Congolese officials nor has any advice been requested. However, we have remained in contact on this issue with both the Democratic Republic of Congo Embassy in London and with the Congolese Ministry of Foreign affairs in Kinshasa. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, has written to President Kabila to underline our concern over this incident, We understand that police investigations are continuing.

Iraq

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to prevent ammunition obtained from coalition forces' supplies reaching the black market in Iraq.

Kim Howells: UK forces' ammunition in Iraq is accessible only to UK personnel The Iraqi security forces (ISF) do not draw their ammunition from UK supplies. Thorough measures are in place to prevent any interference with UK ammunition supplies at all stages in the supply and distribution chain. These include secure containment with restricted access, regular patrols, and thorough auditing. There is no evidence of diversion or unauthorised removal of UK ammunition.
	The UK has gifted infrastructure, vehicles and other equipment, including ammunition, direct to the ISF, in order that they will be able to undertake security tasks with less recourse to Multi-National Forces (MNF). This has taken place under the auspices of project Osiris, which the House has been informed of prior to donations. Thorough measures are in place to avoid the possibility of diversion of this equipment, including checking and logging of stocks on arrival, UK military supervision of hand-over, and checking and recording the identification of recipients, After hand-over, the ISF take full responsibility for the security of equipment, although some routine inventory checks are subsequently still carried out by Multi-National Forces.
	Other members of coalition forces will have their own monitoring and security procedures in place.

Iraq

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will take steps to seek the establishment of an independent international body to monitor the levels of conflict-related mortality in Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The UN operates in Iraq and monitors the levels of violence and conflict related deaths. The numbers of deaths cited in the UN Human Rights Reports are taken from Iraqi Ministry of Health figures. Maintaining records of civilian deaths in Iraq is ultimately a matter for the Government of Iraq and we believe they are best placed to monitor the situation. In many conflict situations it would be impossible to make a reliably accurate assessment either of the civilian casualties resulting from any particular attacks or of the overall civilian casualties of a conflict. This is true in the security conditions that exist in Iraq. It is unlikely that an independent body could gain better access than the Iraqi Ministries, including the Ministry of Health, which collates information from some 180 hospitals across the country.

Lebanon

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with  (a) the UN,  (b) the Government of Lebanon,  (c) the Government of Israel and  (d) Hezbollah on the subject of unexploded ordnance in Lebanon as a result of the recent conflict, with particular reference to cluster munitions which failed to explode; and what monitoring has been undertaken of the situation.

Kim Howells: We have recently held official level discussions through our embassies in Beirut and Tel Aviv, about unexploded ordnance with the Governments of Lebanon and Israel. We called on the Government of Israel to make a public statement about its use of cluster munitions in the recent conflict with Lebanon. We have not held any discussions with Hezbollah on the issue. We plan to discuss the issue of cluster munitions with the UN shortly.
	We continue to be concerned about levels of unexploded ordnance and cluster munitions in south Lebanon. In response to the recent crisis in Lebanon the Department for International Development (DFID) has provided £205,000 to the British non-governmental organisation, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) for clearance of unexploded ordnance and have a commitment to provide a sum of £1 million to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) for similar tasking.

Lebanon

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are being taken by  (a) the UK and  (b) the rest of the EU to help the Lebanese armed forces to achieve the capacity to effectively defend Lebanese sovereignty; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Through its contribution to United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, (UNIFIL) the EU is supporting the Lebanese Government in extending its authority throughout the whole of Lebanese territory. EU member states comprise the bulk of troops deployed to UNIFIL acting under its new mandate. The UNIFIL mission is currently under French command. As a result of UNlFIL's efforts so far, the Lebanese army is now deployed in south Lebanon for the first time in 30 years.
	The other main area of EU involvement is on managing points of entry, where Germany has taken on a forward role on border, port and airport security. Germany deployed a team of consultants based at the airport to assist the Lebanese with their aviation security shortly after the conflict ended. They have offered advice and equipment to improve management of the Lebanon/Syria border. Germany has also taken on the task of supporting the Government of Lebanon with their maritime security under UNIFIL. This operation took over on 15 October from an interim maritime task force comprised of a number of international partners (UK, France, Italy, Greece) who had been carrying out monitoring off Lebanon's shores under an Italian lead. The UK deployed HMS York as part of this arrangement. The EU is also collectively exploring the options for providing enhanced border security and security sector assistance for the wider Lebanese security forces.
	The UK's contribution has been a commitment of £2.5 million for security sector assistance. There is currently an Ministry of Defence (MOD) minute before the house detailing UK proposals to supply the Lebanese with 50 vehicles. The MOD is also planning to provide counter-terrorism training and we are looking to identify the equipment and training needs of the security forces and co-ordinating donor responses. We have allocated £320,000 for counter-terrorism assistance in Lebanon, including training for border security, police capacity building and aviation security and assistance.

Middle East

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the proposed extension of the Temporary International Mechanism to deliver aid to the Palestinians; and when it is expected to take effect.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	On 20 September, the Quartet (EU, UN, US and Russia) met in New York and endorsed the continuation and expansion of the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) for a three-month period, and agreed to again review the need for such a mechanism at the end of that period.
	The EU had already expanded the TIM in response to the G8 statement of 16 July. The scope was widened to include more of the poorest Palestinian Government workers. Workers in the medical sector, PA employees who earn less than 2,000 New Israeli Shekels a month, pensioners, and recipients of welfare from the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs have received allowances through the TIM. This totals 98,000 recipients. Their allowances help them to continue working, to provide their families with a modest income and help to inject money into the Palestinian economy.
	In the light of the serious humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the EU is considering how further to expand the TIM. Officials discussed the issue in Brussels on 10 October. The plans currently under consideration would increase the number of recipients of TIM allowances considerably while maintaining the rigorous auditing procedures that have been applied so far. The World Bank is expected to provide support to the water, sanitation and electricity sectors and to deliver essential medical supplies in November.
	As I reported to the House on 9 October, the UK has committed a total of £9 million to the TIM. Of this, £3 million is for allowances to the poorest Palestinian Government workers; £3 million is for essential medical supplies and £3 million is for water, sanitation and electricity. I intend to allocate a further £3 million to the TIM as the need for further funding arises. This is in addition to the UK's contribution to European Community support. European Community support to the Palestinians in 2006 totals more than €340 million. This is considerably more than the European Community has given on average in recent years.

Public Servant Training

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will list the programmes funded by the EU to train public servants of the new EU accession countries.

Geoff Hoon: Twinning and Taiex (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument) are the main programmes funded by the EU providing practical assistance to support reform within the public administrations of new accession countries.
	Twinning involves the secondment of public sector experts from EU member Ssates to new accession countries as well as candidate and potential candidate countries, for periods from around six months to three years. It supports priority reforms through projects identified by the beneficiary country. Projects typically include training and capacity building for public servants as well as support for changes in policy and practices. Taiex provides technical expertise from EU member states for short assignments.
	The UK is an active participant in both Twinning and Taiex in new accession countries.

Sri Lanka

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the report of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission implicating Sri Lankan Government forces in the deaths of aid workers in Muttur.

Kim Howells: We are seriously concerned by the findings of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on recent incidents, including the killings of the Action Contre le Faim aid workers at Muttur. The SLMM have attributed serious human rights violations to all parties to the conflict. It is essential to establish the truth behind these allegations; we support all efforts to do so. It is vital that investigations are thorough, credible and provide a proper basis, where necessary, for due legal process. We therefore welcome the agreement of the Australian Government to provide forensic technical assistance for the Muttur investigation. We also welcome President Rajapakse's initiative for a national commission to inquire into recent killings, disappearances and abductions in Sri Lanka and for a panel of international observers to oversee the process.

Sri Lanka

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission since the expulsion of monitors from EU member states by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Kim Howells: We fully support the efforts of the Norwegian Government as facilitators of the peace process, and in particular their efforts over recent months to ensure the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission's (SLMM) continued to operate. We remain in close contact with the Norwegians.
	Even following the withdrawal of individuals who happened to be citizens of EU states the SLMM, with reduced numbers of personnel from Norway and Iceland, remain a vital part of the peace process. The SLMM works fairly effectively out of a headquarters in Colombo, six district offices, a liaison office in Killinochchi and through mobile units operating in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she last met representatives of the Sri Lankan Government to discuss the human rights of the Tamil people.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed this issue with the Sri Lankan Government The most recent Cabinet Minister to do so was my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Mr. Timms, who visited Colombo for the Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting, and who raised our concerns on human rights with President Rajapakse on 12 September. Our high commissioner in Colombo and senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials discussed these issues with the Sri Lanka Minister for Human Rights, Samarasinghe, on 29 September.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the comments by the President of Sudan that  (a) Jewish organisations are responsible for mobilising international criticism of Sudan about the conflict in Darfur and  (b) plans for a UN force are part of a plan to recolonise Sudan.

Ian McCartney: We reject any suggestion that international efforts in Darfur are motivated by anything other than a desire to end the suffering of the local population and we further reject any allegation that any religious community has mobilised unjustified criticism. With 1.9 million people still in camps; over 3.5 million in need of international aid; and attacks, killings and rape a daily occurrence, the situation in Darfur is appalling. The international community has a moral obligation to act in the interests of the people of Darfur and will do so. We are pressing all sides to stop the fighting and implement the peace agreement.
	The Government of Sudan should also agree to a UN force in Darfur. It is not true that this would violate Sudan's sovereignty. The African Union itself has consistently called for a UN mission in Darfur. The international community has made clear its full respect for Sudan's sovereignty and territorial integrity. A UN force would be in Darfur to help implement the peace agreement and restore peace and security so that people can begin to rebuild their lives.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the extent of the use of child soldiers in the conflict in Darfur.

Ian McCartney: In September 2006, a UN panel of experts reported the recruitment of child soldiers by parties to the conflict in Darfur. Recruitment of child soldiers is a breach of international humanitarian law and explicitly prohibited by article 24 of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). We have regularly made clear to the Government of Sudan that we expect it to uphold the commitments it has made under, in particular, the convention on the rights of the child and its optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. We have also told the Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement that the recruitment and use of child soldiers is wholly unacceptable and in contravention of their obligations under the Abuja Security protocol of 8 November 2004, which commits both movements and the Government to stop recruiting children as combatants.